Dear Friends,

Where do you draw lines ? 

Much has been made recently of the controversy about the Danish cartoons featuring Mohammed, and the subsequent demonstrations and riots by those opposed to their publication - a determinedly `free press` coming up against an implacable religious cry of "Blasphemy".

The problem (for the quasi-Christian, but really secular, West) is that we are slowly tearing down our `taboos`.  We long ago went beyond the Biblical prohibition on images of the Almighty, and we never really had one on portraying Christ - although there is a lot to be said for not portraying Christ, for not tying down our imaginations by the use of too many (and often crude or banal) images - so it is almost impossible for us to understand the sheer horror that Muslims feel when something that is absolutely and consistently forbidden to them is deliberately splashed over newspapers.  Yet we should try.

We do have `taboos`; child-abuse is probably the most obvious, probably the only one that can still bring out the mob.  But that particular taboo is threatening on a more human level, it is not `simply theological`.  Yet it could, perhaps, give us a `handle` of sorts on the depth of feeling involved in the `cartoon` furore. 

So, should we actually legislate to protect the religious feelings of Muslims ?  This is where line-drawing becomes difficult.  We do not legislate to protect the religious feelings of Christians (or of any other faiths), so why should we make Islam an exception ?  Conversely, why do our Police stand by while Muslim protesters brandish placards containing sentiments that (in the hands of others) would have been forcibly removed ? 

Incitement to violence should, surely, still be one of our taboos - just as refraining from insults should be one of our courtesies.  The British press got this one about right, I think, but not all the protesters did.

In the largely post-Christian West, where we pride ourselves on our tolerance, we can still act intolerably towards others.  The line is fine, but it is there, and some of the Press crossed it.  Many would want those of a religious disposition to be tolerant, too, of those who malign or poke fun at us - and so we should, but only up to a point (and it is only Christians, please remember, who are actually enjoined to "turn the other cheek").

Can we still achieve a society where violence, incitement to violence and the threat of violence are not tolerated ?  I hope so; but the other side of that coin is a willingness to understand and accept (short of violence) the deep feelings of others.  Rights have their corresponding responsibilities; freedom of speech and conscience have their price too - for all of us - and they must be protected for all, equally.  Drawing lines on playing fields is never as easy it looks, and when the field is not flat, it's harder still.

William Lang.